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| Zabriskie Point -1970
by Michelangelo Antonioni.
For us it all began with the
exposition, as one
following Colombo closely
in his first beholding of the Indians...
Who´s their leader? What god do they serve?
The camera forgets it´s
nature and purpose, it is at first
a magnifying glass, feeding
the curiosity of an inquirer.
Perhaps because Antonioni isn´t
a part of the context, geographically
speaking, he assumes this
perspective of a scientist
examining patterns at first,
dividing the characters into smaller
and smaller units to finally
figure out who and what
they are.
The discourse is so fantastic and
carefully developed that evidentiates
contradictions of calling upon the revolutionary leaders from the past
[and/or their philosophies] to guide a
widely dissonant cause. | |
The racial issue of late 60´s could indeed
inspire a revolution but why would the
whites fight for? What flag
would they hold?
Zabriskie point is in deed a document
of the bursting desire
for change of a generation that
at first had no common ideals,
no real bounds other than
the sudden awareness of the whole,
cemented by the the debut in adulthood,
as shocking and crude as being
awakened by a glass of could
water.
The picture is then suffocated by the
crude exposition of brands,
carved and tagged in every
free space of civilization. It´s all owned,
all dictated and maybe our heroes
sensed that since they, during the whole picture,
exemplify the antithesis of
such notions...
It´s clear that Antonioni wanted to single out
the two main characters, and then,
not as a scientist would do but
as a poet. Mark is an ordinary guy
living under the effects
of the great mental/economic/emo-
tional changes of the time.
No one really understood those days,
the only clear thing about it all is that
for the first time in modern history
'fathers' weren´t taken seriously by their kids,
they no longer gave the cards.
Love is what matters, 'society is
something for our parents', our place is
in the wild, there where we are free,
there where we are connected
again to the real meaning
of things: the complete lack of meaning
[as in predetermined purpose] the enjoyment
of the moment, freedom from
thought and rules of society
as our parents sustained it.
Such is the power of Antonioni´s film,
for it captures in his unique,
well known sensitivity the essence of
the contra cultural movements
of that foreign (to him at least) youth.
The Zabriskie point:
The state of California evolved as it is, also
houses part of the prettiest landscapes
in the world. It´s wild life [or wild death
(to play with the dialogue of the film)] is as
impressive as it is abundant.
It´s not by chance that the picture
was named the way it is.
At the top of the funeral mountains
in death Valley California lies
the best spot for glimpsing
the whole valley, whereon an
elevated overlook has being built
for this very purpose, and bears the name of|Zabriskie Point.
It´s there that we find reason.
There where death rests,
the characters discovered
their own lives, and more:
they´ve again subverted another
previously determined concept,
for where death commonly
acceptably rested they´ve
forged life.
This subversion is (over the whole film) discussed,
first in the 'hello/good bye' telephone scene,
and ending with the repainting of the plane.
Antonioni´s timing is peculiar,
his placing of the characters in the space is to say the least:
impressive.
Possessing such skills the picture invites us from it´s very title to observe
from different stand points,
the roots and reasons of the
accomplishments of
that particular generation.
So the film ends with the
complete break with society
as we knew it.
We are shown the crudeness society offers,
it seems us like it can´t handle spontaneity
any more, and what was a youthful joke
ends up in tragedy...
The whole plot is then formed, there´s only
one thing to be done now, the only
solution is the complete
bursting of all previous forms
of thinking
all previous manners and philosophies,
and in deed
they explode,
steadily and harmonically.
Breaking free from every form
of restrainment, a violent and yet necessary
reset of thoughts that
not by chance happens in the mind of
a woman.
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